4 of the top 10 are in their 30s. If you include players who are less than 2 months from being 30 that would make 6 of the top 10 (and #11 is also in his 30s).
There isn’t a single grand slam winner who was born after 1988. All the 7 active grand slam winners will be in their 30s in 2 months. Currently 5 of the 7 active grand slam winners are in their 30s with the remaining 2 a couple of months away.
So it’s not just Nadal and Federer skewing the statistics. Then there is also the case of someone like Wawrinka, who didn’t win a single grand slam until he turned 29 after which he won 3.
The ageing effect in tennis is not a statistical anomaly but a real thing. I do, however, agree that technology’s impact in this has been limited to better sports medicine and fitness allowing older players to compete longer. However, the same players who are winning in their old age today are playing significantly worse games than they were 5-10 years ago. In addition to technology allowing older players to compete, the ageing of the game seems to have a lot more to do with the changing demographics of people getting into the game, cult coaching techniques, which at least in the US have destroyed any chance of an American competing (US coaches due to parental pressure for their kids to win so they can get a college scholarship instead of developing a good game focus on styles of play that work for undeveloped teens, but not at the professional level), and changes in the surface and balls that have slowed the game down and eliminated the styles successful in the 90s which many kids grew up emulating.
There isn’t a single grand slam winner who was born after 1988. All the 7 active grand slam winners will be in their 30s in 2 months. Currently 5 of the 7 active grand slam winners are in their 30s with the remaining 2 a couple of months away.
So it’s not just Nadal and Federer skewing the statistics. Then there is also the case of someone like Wawrinka, who didn’t win a single grand slam until he turned 29 after which he won 3.
The ageing effect in tennis is not a statistical anomaly but a real thing. I do, however, agree that technology’s impact in this has been limited to better sports medicine and fitness allowing older players to compete longer. However, the same players who are winning in their old age today are playing significantly worse games than they were 5-10 years ago. In addition to technology allowing older players to compete, the ageing of the game seems to have a lot more to do with the changing demographics of people getting into the game, cult coaching techniques, which at least in the US have destroyed any chance of an American competing (US coaches due to parental pressure for their kids to win so they can get a college scholarship instead of developing a good game focus on styles of play that work for undeveloped teens, but not at the professional level), and changes in the surface and balls that have slowed the game down and eliminated the styles successful in the 90s which many kids grew up emulating.